Valve assembly



Filed Aug. 30, 1949 2 SI-IEETS-Sl-IEET 1 Jan. 6, 1953 E. D. WATSON El AL2,624,587

VALVE ASSEMBLY In VEH L 01-5 Z'dzgin D. Wat/6012 Jame5D.Oree% .55 WfW 5Jan. 6, 1953 E. D. WATSON ET AL 2,624,587

VALVE ASSEMBLY Filed Aug. 50. 1949 2 smzms smw 2 f2: VE'IZ Luz-'5 Edzuin .D. Z'Vaaozz Jams 1). (71 98125 Patented Jan. 6, 1953 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE VALVE ASSEMBLY of Ohio Application August 30, 1949,-SerialNo.'113,'066

This invention relates to a valveassemblysuitable for compressors andthe like which has an enhanced flow capacity for its size.

Specifically, the invention deals with a. compressor valve assemblyhaving unimpeded flow passages controlled by valves with hollow stemsguided in a retainer that loads a spring for each valve and is held inposition by a single draw bolt.

While this invention. will hereinafter be specifically described asembodied in an assembly of valves for use with a compressor, .it shouldbe understood that the invention is not limited to .any particularusage, since the structures-of this invention are generally useful incontrolling iiow of fluid under pressure.

According to this invention a body member inthe-form of a thick metaldisk or block has .a plurality of circular holes formed therethrough.One face of the disk is provided with a spherically concave bevel aroundeachhole. A valve having ahead with a convex spherical seating. face isprovided for mating with each seating face on the disk. Each valve has atubular stein projecting away from the disk into a recess in a retainerblock, which provides a free-fitting, guide for the valve. A spring isseated in the valve stem and is compressed between the valve head,andthe block. If desired, a second spring, preferably in the form .of adished washer, is provided-at the blind end of the recess to absorbshock impacts from the end of the valve stem. A single draw boltconnects the retainer and disk and is effective to .uniformly load allof the springs. The retainer block is spaced from the disk by means of aboss portion surrounding the draw bolt. To facilitate unrestricted flowfrom the holes in the disk past the retainer, the retainer is providedwith a plurality of through holes intermediate the recesses for thevalve stems.

A feature of the invention resides in the use of spherical mating faceson the valves and valve seats to accommodate misalignment of the valvesin their stem guideswithout interfering with sealing efficiency of theassembly.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of unimpededflow holes in the body of the assembly.

It .is, then, an important object ofthe invention to provide a valveassembly suitable for compressors and the like which will have a largeflow capacity in a restricted area and which will be capable of sealingunder very high pressures.

Another object of the inventionis to provide an assembly of. valves eachcontrolling asingle.v

3 Claims. (01. 277-60) fiow. passage and each capable of highspeeduperation with a minimum amount of inertia.

Another feature of the invention is to provide a valve assembly with aplurality of reliefvalves that will eiiectively operate through .a.relatively short stroke and which will cooperate to :provide ahigh flowcapaci-tyfor passage of gaseous fluids.

A specific object of the invention is to provide a compressor valveassembly with hollow stemmed valves receiving closure springs in thehollow stems thereof;

Other and further objects and features of this invention will beapparent to those skilled in the art from the I following detaileddescription of the annexed sheets of drawingswhich, by way of apreferred example only, illustrate: one embodiment of this invention.

On the drawings:

Figure 1 .is a side elevational view ofa valve assembly according tothis invention mounted in a compressor discharge passage shown'in.vertical cross section.

Figure 2 is a top pian view.of.the.valve..=assembly included in Figure1.

Figure 3 is a transverse cross-sectional ,view taken substantially alongthe line IIIIII; of Eigure 2.;

Figure 4 is a bottom plan-view of the'rvalve ,assembly' shown in Figures1 to 3.

Figure, 5 is a fragmentary enlarged vertical cross-sectional view, withparts in elevation, illustrating one of the valves in the assembly:andthe manner in whichsealing'einciency is maintained even when thevalve is in cocked position;

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure'obut showing the valve in a fullyopened position.

Asshown on the drawings:

The valve assembly If! shownin Figures 1.to-.4 is composedof arelatively thick metalldiskror circular block I l, ,aplurality ofvalves, I 2; a spring I3, for each valve l2, a retainer head M forslidably guidingthe valves I2 and for bottomingthe springs 13, a drawbolt It for connecting the re- ,tainer, l4 and disk Il, a nut 55 onthebolt I5, apin I? for preventing relative rotation of the retaineranddisk, and a Belleville type Washer l8 for each spring [3. v

As'shown in Figure 1, a housing I9 defininga discharge passageway 20from ,a compressor (not shown) has'a counterbore 2| in the end thereofterminating inwardly from the end at, a shoulder 22. The disk 'I l,forming the body of theaassembly I 0, fits this counterbore- 2i and hasa flat face Ila bottomed on the shoulder 22, around the peripheralmargin thereof. The-opposite face 3 of the disk I I has a recess I Ibbounded by a circular flange IIc extending above a flat shoulder IId ata level above the bottom of the recess III) as best shown in Figure 3.

As shown in Figure l, a hold-down bracket 23 is acted on by a screw 24for clamping the assembly I in the housing I9 against the shoulder 22.This bracket 23 has an annular rim 23a with a leading end 23?) that isstepped to fit against the shoulder Nd and over the rim No of the diskII. The rim 23a fits in the bore 2I and has an inner diametersubstantially flush with the side wall of the recess I lb of the disk II so as not to overhang the recess.

The disk II is provided with a bore 25 in the axial center thereof forreceiving the shank of the bolt I5. A plurality of cylindrical bores 26surround this central bore 25 and, as shown in Figure 4, are preferablyin two concentric rings centered by the bolt I5. As shown in Figure 4,the outer ring has twelve bores 26 while the inner ring has six bores26. Each bore is cylindrical and is unimpeded from the bottom face IIato the recessed face I II) of the disk I I.

As best shown in Figures and 6, the bottom recessed face Nb of the diskII has a beveled mouth 26a surrounding each bore 26. This mouth 26a isin the shape of a concave fragmental sphere to provide a valve seat.

Each valve I2 is composed of an enlarged head In and a smaller diametertubular stem I2b projecting outwardly from the head I2a into anindividual well or cylindrical recess I4a. in the retainer I4. The stemI2b fits rather loosely in the recess Ma. The coil spring I3 extendsfreely into the tubular stem I21) and is bottomed on the head I2a of thevalve. The Belleville washer spring I8 is interposed between the springI3 and the bottom of the well or recess I4a of the retainer I4. Asshown, the spring I3 fits freely in the tubular stem I21) and projectsinto the concave side of the Belleville washer I8. This washer I8,however, is of larger diameter than the bore in the stem I2b so that,when the valve is opened, the rim end I2c of the stem will thrustagainst the washer, causing it to flatten as shown in Figure 6. Thewasher thereupon acts as a shock absorber to cushion the blow of thevalve on the retainer I4. It should be understood, however, that thewasher I6 is not necessary, and that the spring I3 could be bottomeddirectly on the retainer I4.

The head I2a of the valve has an annular seating face I2d of convexfragmental spherical contour to mate with the seat 26a. As shown,theseating face I2d of the valve converges from a diameter which is largerthan the greatest diameter of the seat 26a to a diameter which issmaller than the bore 26, so that when the valve stem I2b is coaxialwith the bore 26, the face I2 d will engage the seat 26a intermediatethe small and large diameters of the face as shown in solid lines inFigure 5.

Since the stem I2b fits loosely in the well Ida to insure free floatingaction of the valve, it may be possible for the stem to occasionallytilt out of coaxial alignment with the bore 26 to tilt the valve asshown in dotted lines in Figure 5. Nevertheless, the mating sphericalface I2d of the valve and seat 26a of the bore 26 will insure fullsealing contact between the valve and disk to close the bore 26. Thisfeature renders it unnecessary to accurately guide the stem I2b in thewell I4a.

As shown in Figures 3, 5, and 6, the retainer I4 has a depending centralboss portion I4b receiving the bolt shank therethrough and bottomed onthe recessed face I lb of the disk II. A countersunk portion I40 isprovided in the outer face of the retainer in coaxial alignment with thebore in the boss I 4b and this recess is adapted to freely receive thesocket head I5a of the bolt I5. The use of a socket head bolt makespossible the elimination of a bolt head projection beyond the retainerI4.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the retainer I4 has a ring of holes I4cZtherethrough arranged between the rings of wells I4a which receive thevalve stems so that the holes I4d do not communicate with a well. Asindicated in Figure 2, six holes I4d are provided in a ring that isconcentric with the center of the retainer. These holes I4d accommodatepassage of air or other fluid freely through the retainer. Since theretainer is of smaller diameter than the recessed face III) of the diskII, fluid can also flow freely around the periphery of the retainer.

The pin I1 is seated in blind bores provided in the retainer and diskand is effective to prevent relative rotation of the disk and retainer.

The boss MD of the retainer I4, when bottomed against the recessed faceNb of the disk I I by the bolt I5, will hold the inner face of the diskat a level just beyond the rim flange IIc of the disk and, since themating face of the boss and the bottom of the recessed face of the diskare flat the bottoms of the wells I4a of the retainer will each beequally spaced from the valve seat with which they are aligned, so as touniformly load the springs I3 and I8.

As shown in Figure 6, when a valve I2 is fully opened, the head I2athereof will still be spaced from the inner face of the retainer so thatall of the impact load will be borne by the bottom of the well ascushioned by the spring I8.

The assembly II] of this invention thus operates to accommodate flow ofair or gas from the passage 26 through the unimpeded bores 26 which arecontrolled by the valves I2. These valves are relatively small, light inweight, and freely operative so that they will open and close withoutsubstantial inertia. When the valves are open, the air will pass freelythrough the bores 26 into the recess face I II) of the disk I I to thendisperse freely around the periphery of the retainer I4 and through theholes M11 in the retainer. As soon as the pressure on the upstream sideof the passage 20 drops below the pressure for which the valve springhas been set to close, the valves will quickly close to seal theirindividual passages 26.

From the above descriptions it should therefore be understood that thisinvention provides an assembly of valves especially suitable forcompressors and the like wherein a multi-apertured body has each of theapertures controlled by an individual spring-loaded valve operatingwithout substantial inertia in a relatively short stroke and guided by asingle retainer unit which is held in operative relation by a singledraw bolt that simultaneously and equally loads each valve spring.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effectedwithout departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the presentinvention.

We claim as our invention:

1. A valve assembly of enhanced flow capacity which comprises a blockhaving a plurality of unimpeded holes therethrough, one face of saidblock having a beveled mouth around each hole defining a valve seat foreach hole, said valve seat having a concave fragmental sphericalcontour, a valve for each seat having a head with an annular seatingface of convex fragmental spherical contour and a hollow tubular stemprojecting from the head, a retainer having blind wells therein looselyguiding the valve stems, a coil spring in each valve stem, a BellevilleWasher spring bottomed in each well and receiving the end of the coilspring projecting from the valve stem, each Belleville washer having adiameter larger than the coil spring so as to be engaged by the end ofthe valve stem when the valve is opened, and a central draw boltassembly uniting the block and retainer for simultaneously loading allof the valve springs whereupon said valves will be urged into sealingengagement with the valve seats and said valve seats will accommodatemisalignment of the valve without permitting leakage.

2. A valve assembly suitable for compressor housings and the like whichcomprises a relatively thick metal disk having a plurality of circularbores therethrough arranged in spaced concentric relation about thecenter of the disk, a plurality of valves, one for each bore in the diskhaving a head movable toward and away from an end of the bore controlledthereby, each of said valves having a tubular stem projecting away fromsaid disk, a retainer secured in spaced relation to said disk and havingblind wells spaced and dimensioned for loosely receiving each stem, anda spring washer resiliently connected with each of said valves andinterposed between the retainer and the rim end of the respectivetubular stem to absorb thrusts of such valve against the retainer.

3. In a valve assembly, the improvement which comprises a valve retainerplate having a blind well recessed in one face, a valve having a closedvalve head and a hollow tubular stem projecting from said head into saidwell, said tubular stem being dimensioned to fit loosely within saidwell, acoil spring fitted within said tubular stem bottomed against saidhead and normally extending outwardly from said tubular stem, and awasher spring engaged by the outward end of said coil spring andcentered between said coil spring and the bottom of said well, saidwaslrer sptring having a diameter to underlie the rim end of saidtubular stem to resiliently engage the said rim end when said coilspring is compressed within said tubular stem.

EDWIN D. WATSON.

JAMES D. CREEK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,376,484 Tuttle May 3, 19211,502,734 Martin July 29, 1924 1,551,697 Richardson Sept. 1, 19251,651,235 Terrill Nov. 29, 1927 2,000,691 Collins May 7, 1935 2,041,970Shepherd May 26, 1936 2,118,435 Jados May 24, 1938 2,192,193 JohnsonMar. 5, 1940 2,471,294 Watts May 24, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number CountryDate 14,722 France of 1911 28,864 Great Britain Dec. 12, 1910 73,838Austria Sept. 25, 1917

